


And Then There Was One

by Nanayon



Category: Umineko no Naku Koro ni | When the Seagulls Cry
Genre: Alternate POV to Canon Scene, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanayon/pseuds/Nanayon
Summary: Victory is certain for the Golden Witch; yet she wants to end this game with a last hurrah. How about quelling a personal vendetta for that?
Kudos: 14





	And Then There Was One

Thanks to [Pyukumukus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyukumukus/pseuds/Pyukumukus) for beta-ing this fic! 

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Beatrice launches her gaze towards the exit of the main hall, from which one could access the corridor that leads to the parlor and other areas of the mansion’s first floor. The clock ticks nonstop behind, soon to strike midnight.

She smiles. Soon, the game will be over. From the 1st to the 8th twilights, all victims have been sacrificed according to the proper requirements needed for her resurrection. All that is left now is for the 9th twilight to occur, and victory shall be hers.

Her pipe is still warm from her last assault, smoke occasionally coming out of it. The witch allows herself a short moment to breathe. …She did it. She actually managed to complete her ritual, against all odds. To think that all humans were foolish enough not to try solving the epitaph! And even if they tried doing so now… There are only ten minutes left to midnight. It’s too late for a miracle now.

“Keheheh… Aaaaah, it’ll soon be over, won’t it?”

She sags her shoulders. The end of this gameboard is certain. No matter what the pieces try to do now, it’s a certain victory for Beatrice. Knowing that, she could simply hide and wait, until time itself seals her checkmate.

...But there is something else she wishes to handle before time is up. Or rather,  _ someone _ . Someone whom she’d rather see dead before the doors to the Golden Land open, so that she won’t have to deal with inviting them to her paradise. After all, this person is the reason she came to need the Golden Land to begin with.

The reason why she has had to live as  _ furniture _ .

The sound of steps echo on the distance. They catch the witch’s attention. ( _ Perfect _ .) She thinks, while a malicious grin spreads on her face. ( _ Looks like your pride will allow me a final delight to end this game on a perfect note _ .)

On the other side of the hall, Ushiromiya Natsuhi made her entrance, a shotgun firm on her grasp. Beatrice simply stared at the woman with her grin firm on her face. It seems like the woman has accepted her invitation for a duel. She’s got to give it to Natsuhi, at least she is not a coward when it comes to her own life.

"...I am Ushiromiya Natsuhi, representative of the Ushiromiya family!!! Show yourself, Golden Witch, Beatrice!!!"

So Natsuhi says once she enters the hall, and out of courtesy, Beatrice appears before her.

_ (Aaaah, Natsuhi. How I have longed for this moment. The moment when I bring you to my knees, whether by you showing me respect or by dying!! Kyahahahahahaha!!!) _

Beatrice has been waiting for this moment all day long. …She rubs her hands against her pipe, a slight sting still present on them. From the moment the scorpion charm prevented her from claiming Natsuhi as a sacrifice for the first twilight, Beatrice has patiently waited for the moment when she’d finally be able of obtaining her revenge.

In hindsight, though… the fact that she had to wait until now wasn’t all that bad. Intentionally or not, the Demon’s Roulette has come up with a rather…  _ interesting _ arrangement at this gameboard. She noticed a peculiar pattern with the order of the chosen sacrifices, you see. A pattern that reminds her of a favorite book of hers,  _ And Then There Were None _ .

_ (How, you ask? It’s quite simple, my dear Reader. The culprit of that novel - whose identity I’d dare not spoil - had a peculiar heart behind their crimes. Soldier Island reunited people with sins of all sorts of nature in it, sins that could not be properly judged by Humans. U.N. Owen took upon themselves the mantle of a witch, and then brought forth the due punishment to those souls in a magnificent manner!) _

_ (Moreover, U.N. Owen was a criterious person. With their sense of judgement beyond human scope, they were able of determining the weight of each sin committed by those trapped on their island, and then killed them from the lightest to the heaviest sin. For you see, as brutal as murder may be, it still brings release. Living in fear of your own death, on the other hand, with paranoia that one of your colleagues is out to kill you, is a delicious treat for any witch worth their salt!) _

_ (Kihihihi, HYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!) _

Thank you for your insight, Beatrice. You should probably bring your focus back to the woman sporting a gun and pointing it at you, though.

"...So you have finally... shown yourself. I still can't believe... that something like you really exists... But that isn't a problem. Both I, bearing the title of representative to the Ushiromiya family, and you, the one who claims to succeed the head of the Ushiromiya family, are here right now. At this point, whether you are a witch or not is a trivial problem!"

Natsuhi’s words make Beatrice raise an eyebrow. Whether she is a witch or not is ‘trivial’?  _ (What a foolish woman. It is with my magic that I have carried my dominance of this island, and it is with it that your life will end!!) _

She readies her own magic to use in this duel. It’s a futile struggle by Natsuhi’s part, as Beatrice knows well enough. The power this woman thinks she carries, a power that, in normal circumstances, would be an actual threat to a witch like her, for guns and their bullets contain massive amounts of anti-magic toxin… Is null. Falsehood. An illusion born from Beatrice's own magic.

She prepared this movement several turns ago, a trap that would assure her checkmate in the most satisfying way possible.

Ahhhh, but she dares not gloat it out and spoil the surprise. Beatrice simply chuckles while facing Natsuhi, much to the latter’s annoyance. Natsuhi wants some sort of response, but Beatrice won’t dignify her with it. So, the woman continues her speech.

“…Come, …let us settle this. …Which of us will truly succeed the Ushiromiya family? …I, Ushiromiya Natsuhi, …or you, …Beatrice!! Allow me to respectfully accept your request for a duel…!!”

That makes Beatrice laugh in excitement. Her laugh is shrill, loud, it echoes on the hall. It’d disturb anyone listening to it, and Natsuhi is no exception.

_ (Which of us will succeed the family? ...Don’t make me laugh!! It’s because I was lauded the Head in the first place that this whole tragedy has been carried out! Even in that regard, you’ve lost this fight before it even began!!!) _

Beatrice raises her pipe in position, just like Natsuhi does the same with her gun. Golden butterflies roam the hall in anticipation… And in each of them, reflections of this game’s events appeared, just like they popped in Beatrice’s mind.

_ For the cook that tormented me, the parents that made Battler-san not come back, the cruel older brother and the mother that abused Maria-sama, I give thee the first twilight. _

_ Ten Little Soldier Boys came to thrive; Five lost their little faces and then there were five. _

_ For the cruel woman who mocked me and made me feel less than human, for this couple that would never allow a future for George-sama and I, I give thee the second twilight. _

_ Five Little Soldier Boys playing with a bee; Two were stung badly and then there were three. _

_ For the three that played along with Kinzo’s madness, who allowed me to fall in love that furniture should not be allowed to, I give thee the sixth, seventh and eighth twilights. _

_ Three Little Soldier Boys were sent to run; The three received a visit and then… there was one? _

_ Ah, of course. For you, the one that branded me as furniture to begin with, the one who lacked a mother’s love, I give thee the burden of everything before, and the ninth twilight. _

_ One Little Soldier Boy was handed a gun; He couldn’t fire it well… _

***BANG!!* *BANG!!***

_ …And then there were none. _


End file.
